Sunday, November 18, 2007

For the most part I never knew what a ragu was for a very long time. All my life in fact. When I heard the term ragu, my mind would usually conceive a visual image of something more along the lines of beef tripe, or something exotic and mildly freakish like ox tongue stew. But it wasn't until I made this pasta dish for a friend that they mentioned this concoction was in fact like a ragu. I gave her a blank stare, as if she had just spoken to me in Elvish or something.

Although traditionally made with ground beef a rugu is essentially a rich tomato based sauce made for pasta that is cooked slowly over low heat. The name is derived from the French ragoûter, which means to revive or stimulate the taste of. So I guess essentially this pasta sauce has the basic attributes of an Italian ragu, just without the meat.

I made this dish on a lazy day-off that I spent doing menial chores. And of all chores I hate doing, laundry is probably the one I detest most. It's not the washing part that annoys me, it's more the hanging the clothes part that is the bore. And because I want to stay eco-friendly, I always like to use the sun whenever possible. So it makes it even more a task having to put all the clothes into a basket, go outside and proceed to hang each item one peg at a time.

I've been known to leave the damp clothes in the laundry basket for hours while I try to force the most minuscule amount of motivation to bring myself to put those clothes on the line. It's a struggle every time. And then there's the part where you have to take the clothes off the line, and it all seems redundant in the end. But I guess clean clothes are a necessity in life.

But I later found out that if there was anything that would motivate me to get out and take the time to hang my laundry out on the line, it would have to be this ragu. I guess with any sort of chore, I could get through it with this ragu. See, you can start with the vacuuming, then with the dishes, then with the laundry and just before it's time to take the ragu off the stove, all you need to do is go outside and put those clothes on the line. And by that time you will be smelling the aroma of thick tomato sauce, basil and sweet eggplants bubbling away from the outside. You will have no choice but to make haste back into your house. I know it worked for me. I 've nver hung clothes with that much determination to finish.

Next time it comes around to housework, I know what will jolt me into action to get through the most mundane of tasks. With this simple pasta dish waiting at the end of your labour, I don't know what better reward there could be.

If you want you can substitute the eggplant with some shredded or ground meat or if you want the dish to stay vegetarian, then perhaps use zucchini or pumpkin instead.

And if you need more ideas to get you started with pasta dishes why not head over to Presto Pasta Nights at Once Upon a Feast. There's a bevy of pasta recipes that could keep you going for a year. Enjoy!

Over medium heat, in a large saucepan heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.Add the onions and fry until onions become translucent.Add the garlic and anchovies and stir until the anchovies dissolve.Add sea salt to season, mix for about 2 minutes.Add the chopped eggplants and mushrooms and cook for about 5 more minutes or until the eggplant begins to soften.Pour in the canned tomatoes and grab a small handful of fresh basil leaves and add to the mixture, stir to combine.Leave to simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes.

While ragu is simmering, boil 1 litre of water in a pot.When water comes to a rolling boil, add a generous amount of sea salt.Add the orecchiette and cook for the amount of time specified on the package.Drain and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil before topping with ragu.Season with cracked black pepper and more sea salt to taste.

Hanging out washing must be one of the most futile tasks in existence. The worst is when it starts raining mid-way through. When I lived at home I used to pretend I hadn't realised it was raining (belligerent teenager that I was) just to avoid the un-pegging/re-pegging polava.

I suppose it is mildly better than walking around in clothes that smell of fusty wet wool because you left them to dry in the basket though...

This sauce looks delicious. I made a very simple tomato one (from Orangette) last night which made the impending sock balling seem much more bearable.

Love your photography... first time visiting your blog. I have to agree about the laundry bit. Actually laundry is my favourite thing to do of all the chores, second only to washing dishes, but lately, I have become like you, just leaving the laundry in the washing machine as long as possible till I really have no choice but to hang them. Have become way too lazy...